Mine settled after a few weeks. I'm a pretty heavy user tho, but still get about 80% of the life I used to get out of my iPhone 4 (on a bad day).

My S3 has a bigger screen and I do run VoIP (which I couldn't on the iPhone) so that will naturally use a bit more battery.

The reality is tho that most modern smart phones are going to require a daily charge. I've been in the habit of charging my phone overnight for years now, and 99% of the time, that gets me through to the next nightly charge.

Also, if she doesn't use NFC, bluetooth etc make sure they are off. I turned off the facial tracking and 'motion' stuff because I think that can use a bit of battery too. Turn off live wallpaper. Go through the 'accounts' settings and make sure you're only 'syncing' stuff you actually need to sync e.g. I think by default Facebook updates in the background which I turned off - I see get notifications of activity, but the app isn't always preloading stuff in the background.

Interesting theory though! I thought the manufacturer handles firmware? Surely they couldnt have different firmware for every provider?

They certainly do. Vodafone, 2degrees and Telecom all have unique firmware on the S3 (and most Android) handsets they sell. This allows them to customise not only network optimisation settings (like fast dormancy) but also preload operator applications and branding. (Eg, when the phone boots, does it have a Vodafone logo animation? The VFAU ones certainly do).

This is why people often complain about the delay of getting android updated to their handset - Once Google release a new version, the handset manufacturer then needs to adapt it to the phone, and then they hand it off to the operators for customisation and testing (Some never bother).

There are of course unbranded or generic devices in some markets too. My S3, purchased through JB Hifi in Australia is not carrier specific - and thus I am likely to get updates (Like the hopefully not too far away Jelly Bean update) before any of the operator specific phones.

pcheroes: But the firmware is the same right? Its only the customizations and settings that differ?

Our S3 is not Vodafone customized - although was setup for the vodafone network.

For the most part yes, there will be some differences. For example, the 2degrees firmware has some specific stuff loaded that allows the NFC to be used (in conjunction with a compatible 2degrees SIM card) to emulate a Snapper card.

You cannot do this with the Vodafone or Telecom version of the phone, even if you loaded up the Snapper app and got the right SIM card.